Brilliant!

Newsradio was a fish out of water. In a time of oversexed young white
sitcoms, Newsradio relied on brilliant writing, expert character
development, and excellent plots to drive it along. No gimmicks needed.
Each
character had a role to fill, and they filled it well. All of the cast
members are excellent, with no misfires. Everyone has classic episodes they
like to talk about.

Still, as excellent as this is, there are a few minor flaws. For one,
Khandi
Alexander never got as much screen time as she deserved, and this is no
doubt why she left the show. She tried to be a Bill McNeal foil, but Dave
served that function already. She seemed like an excellent actress, and her
character seemed to be geniune, but nothing ever seemed to happen--in fact,
I cannot readily recall any episode where the plot line was based on her
save for her departure and maybe some of the Joe-Catherine romance
episodes.

I like Jon Lovitz, and, unlike others, I found him to be just as capable as
Phil Hartman to be in Newsradio. I believe that his performance did, in
fact, grow as the last seasoned progressed (watch his hire date vs. some of
the later shows--his character certainly changes). He did serve better
playing off of other characters, such as Beth and (surprisingly) Lisa, and
the few shows that center on him are indeed subpar. Still, some of the best
episodes (in my opinion) are in the last season (the apartment hunt,
Matthew's 30th birthday, Joe Jitzu), so Lovitz's appearance couldn't have
changed the show that much.

Some shows just didn't work. Some of the very early ones are heavy on the
Dave/Lisa romance, and did use just as many sex-related jokes as other
sitcoms of the time. Some shows try to cram three plot lines in one
episode,
and Newsradio needs time to develop. Some rely way too heavily on Andy
Dick's slapstick or Jimmy's over-the-top schemes. And some just don't make
sense (the Dilbert episode did little for me).

All this, however, is little detriment to the show at large. I would much
rather watch reruns of Newsradio than any new sitcoms out there right now.
I
can't say I blame NBC for cancelling it--pure business reasons; the show
wasn't making money for them--but creatively, they blew it.

Newcomers may want to watch a few episodes before they cast judgement. It
took me a few episodes to really enjoy it. It requires that you know the
characters before it becomes interesting and funny.

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45 out of 48 people found the following review useful:

"Good times, good times"

I have to say, I really didn't get into this show until A&E started showing
it in reruns. I really miss the fact that there are no new shows that will
ever come because NBC didn't have the foresight to place it on its Thursday
night lineup. In that time slot it would have easily outpaced such dogs as
Veronica's closet even without Phil Hartman (I raise my glass to you
sir).

While Phil Hartman was truly the glue to the show, it did start to make a
recovery after the writers and Lovitz started to make some sense of what to
do with his character (I think it might have been good to use him as his
original role as a mental patient).

I think Steven Root's character was possibly the greatest TV boss in
history. He was nuts! If you think that his character was little
unrealistic
for a multi billionaire, just look at the owner of the Dallas Mavericks,
Mark Cuban. I was glad to see him again in the movies in "Oh Brother, Where
Art Thou?"

The writing was always fresh. The actors were all perfect for the role's
they played (I am NOT an Andy Dick fan, but he even worked in this show).
The humor was sometimes understated, sometimes slapstick, but always
funny.

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48 out of 60 people found the following review useful:

NBC cancelled this?

NewsRadio was an excellent and clever show, yet it was cancelled while shows
like Suddenly Susan (which when you really think about it rips off
NewsRadio) got to continue. What's with that? Granted, the series never
recovered from the loss of Phil Hartman, but NewsRadio was still good and
way better than other shows on NBC or any other networks. The cast was
great, especially Phil Hartman. Jon Lovitz was not as good as Phil Hartman,
but he was a good replacement and funny. My favorite episode would be the
one where Bill gets a piano and sings hilarious songs about the government
and Dave keeps trying to stop him. Hilarious. NBC, cancelling this series
makes you the dumbest network in the world without a doubt. And with a
network like Fox around, that saying something.

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27 out of 29 people found the following review useful:

One of the greatest TV shows the 90's has ever seen...

NewsRadio has to be one of the most wittiest television
sitcoms
the 90's has to offer. Every character is wonderfully written and
hilariously portrayed by a cast of excellent actors. Dave Foley, from Kids
in the Hall, is great at playing the dead pan and sarcastic new boss "Dave."
And of course Phil Hartman and Andy Dick steal the show as a great
combination of stand up and slapstick. This show is one of the funniest
ever!

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26 out of 29 people found the following review useful:

One of the greatest and most underrated shows ever

A true classic, one of the funniest shows in the history of
television.
It's a shame that Phil Hartman passed away, which basically was the
beginning of the end. I can understand why they tried a fifth season, but
it wasn't the same. Newsradio was smart, funny and had an amazing cast
from
top to bottom. A&E airs reruns daily from 8-9 am, and 2-3 pm. Definitely
worth a look, you'll not be disappointed.

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28 out of 38 people found the following review useful:

The Tastiest Sitcom Ever?

Start with a premise: A radio show. OK, so it's been done. But this isn't
WKRP. This is WNYX, an all-news station. So, it's far from original; an
amalgam of different sitcoms which take place in media outlets. This is
our
main protein source, where we get our main plotlines.

Here's where it gets interesting.
Add a former member of one of the most popular Sketch comedy shows in the
world, The Kids In The Hall: Dave Foley. A gifted comedian and a very good
actor as well. Probably the most versatile player out of the 5 "Kids",
Foley
is the base flavor that keeps the show balanced, like a carefully prepared
stock.

Add another former Sketch player from the award winning Ben Stiller Show:
Andy Dick. Dick plays probably the most ridiculous character to ever be
employed in any capacity. Picture a 30 year old man with the mind of a 15
year old girl. A great physical comedian, Andy Dick is an acquired taste
akin to cilantro- strong, sometimes overpowering, but improves almost
anything to which its added.

What?! Another gifted comedian straight from a great sketch comedy show?
Of
course I refer to Phil Hartman, without question the most consistent and
versatile actor ever to be featured on the uneven series Saturday Night
Live. Mr. Hartman, who left the show abruptly due to his untimely demise,
was the potato in this dish- so consistent you sometimes forget how
amazing
he could be.

Maura Tierney and Khandi Alexander were given what were probably the most
"straight" roles, usually only involved in storylines which involved sex
or
relationships with the men on the show. Both are very talented actresses
but
neither contributed nearly as many laughs as the three men above. Their
roles were essentially sauces, breaking up the flavor and adding different
sweet, rich notes.

Vicky Lewis, on the other hand, was quite like the female version of Andy
Dick. Instead of cilantro, however, she was the hot pepper- and not just
because of her red hair. She was a foil for every character, taking no one
seriously while doing as little work as possible. Again, not a favorite
character for most because of her caustic screen presence.
Hmmm... this tastes pretty good so far, but it needs something
more...
Perhaps some vegetables... well, kids don't like their vegetables and
immature adults don't like to be told what to do. So Stephen Root, the
hilarious Billionaire/Owner of WNYX, is the bitter vegetable- unyielding
and
necessary for good health.

OK, we have our meat, our potatoes, our vegetables and our sauce as well
as
the important herbs and spices. But... this doesn't taste good. It tastes
flat. We need something which improves every flavor it comes in contact
with. Salt!

Joe Rogan, the station electrician/conspiracy theorist, is the icing on
the
cake- a theoretically irrelevant yet logically important character who
just
happens to be funny every time he appears on screen. Possibly my favorite
character.

There... delicious! A heady mix of flavors which would conflict without
the
sturdy base it's built upon. I love Newsradio and although I do like Jon
Lovitz, the show was never the same after Hartman's departure. Watch for
reruns, as the show has been canceled, whenever possible.

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19 out of 23 people found the following review useful:

Very funny, great comedy!!

News Radio is a brilliant 90's television show. It's a great comedy, great
actors, and is flexible (has many different forms of comedy) Never boring or
dull. Once I started watching, I couldn't stop. I never miss it! Get it on
your TV screen NOW!

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14 out of 15 people found the following review useful:

At this point "Newsradio" is one of the top three shows on tv

"Newsradio" is possibly the freshest comedy left on television
in 1998. The chemistry between the cast members remains at a high level,
even after the unfortunate passing of Phil Hartman.
To this point of the fifth season Jon Lovits has stepped in
and
done a great job as Max. I salute NBC for not giving up on this fine show
just because it's not in the top twenty each week. Someone at the network
obviously still feels there should be SOME quality programing on
television.

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:

If you don't laugh with this show, you'll never laugh.

I have been watching this show about 7 months now and by far It is my
absolute favorite show on TV. I originally hated "NewsRadio" and would be
disappointed when it came on, but after I gave it a chance by watching the
old episodes with the late Phil Hartman, I never miss it. I have seen my own
mother in tears over this show laughing out loud. I myself don't believe a
show has ever made me laugh this hard. So if any of the cast and crew is
reading this, keep it up, we love it!

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9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:

The last of the Smart TV Comedies of the 1990s

I originally watched "Newsradio" for one reason only, (1 1/2 if you
count Andy Dick) because I've been a fan of Phil Hartman when he was
previously on SNL. That was all I watched the show for. Then when he
died, I tried to give the Jon Lovitz Episodes a chance, but by then it
just turned into just another "sitcom" (Though it could be argued that
it was leaning in that direction regardless of whether it was with or
without Phil.) Having rediscovered this show on DVD years later, I
realize that this is a perfect ensemble show that gets a little goofy
on purpose. What "Arrested Development" was for this Decade,
"Newsradio" was for the 90s and the quality holds up to this day.